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Huifeng wrote:"disapprove"? Seeking clarity would be more like it. I just wonder if this is really a "need", or otherwise.

To me, the word "need" always requires some qualifier, like "in order to ...., one needs to ..." Without the qualifier my default is "in order to stay alive, one needs to ..." - play guitar?!

I think he needs to play the electric guitar to update certain Buddhist practises to make them more appealing and attractive to present day generations. He said he wanted to make sutra recitation more appealing to people.

Hitting wooden fish, banging drums and striking bells were all innovative at some point and they were incorporated into sutra recitation. The overall effect was positive. Using an electric guitar as a dharma instrument, while indeed unorthodox, is still useful. It might not be accepted by a lot of more traditionally minded Buddhists, but that's their problem.

Now he also sings songs which are mostly Buddhist themed. Traditionally bhiksu don't strum guitars and sing songs lamenting war. But innovation in this sense, if done with right intention and right view, is generally beneficial.

Is there any problem with feeling the need to recite sutras with an electric guitar and sing generally Buddhist themed songs?